Infringement Policy

APARTMENT THERAPY, LLC

DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice and Policy

Apartment Therapy, LLC ("Apartment Therapy") respects others' intellectual property rights and has made every effort to secure appropriate clearances for all proprietary intellectual properties that Apartment Therapy directly makes available on its and its affiliates' websites, including but not limited to: www.apartmenttherapy.com, www.ohdeedoh.com, www.thekitchn.com, www.unplggd.com, and www.re-nest.com (collectively, the "Apartment Therapy Online Services") and we require our users to do the same. Apartment Therapy will respond to allegations of copyright violations in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). The DMCA provides a process for a copyright owner to give notification to an online service provider concerning alleged copyright infringement. When a valid DMCA notification is received, the service provider responds under this process by taking down the offending content. Upon taking down content under the DMCA, Apartment Therapy will take reasonable steps to contact the owner of the removed content so that a counter-notification may be filed. On receiving a valid counter-notification, we generally restore the content in question, unless we receive notice from the notification provider that a legal action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain the alleged infringer from engaging in the infringing activity. You may use the notification process below to alert us to claims of infringement other than copyright but such notifications are not covered by the DMCA and will be governed by our Terms of Use. Please be aware that recipes and certain other content are not capable of copyright. If your notice of infringement relates to a recipe, then you may want to review the U.S. Copyright Office's Circular on the copyrightability of recipes prior to reporting your notice of infringement.

Please note that these notifications and counter-notifications are real-world legal notices provided outside of the Apartment Therapy Online Services environment. Apartment Therapy may provide copies of such notices to the participants in the dispute or third parties, at our discretion and as required by law -the Privacy Policy for Apartment Therapy does not protect information provided in these notices.

To File a Notification of Infringing Content

A written notification must be made. This can be done either by fax or written letter (regular U.S. mail or courier) or to our DMCA Agent at:

DO NOT SEND ANY INQUIRIES UNRELATED TO INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS (E.G., REQUESTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OR CUSTOMER SERVICE, ETC.) TO THE CONTACT LISTED ABOVE. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE IF YOU SEND COMPLAINTS UNRELATED TO LEGAL MATTERS TO THAT CONTACT.

Please include the following information in your notice:

Identification of the work(s) claimed to have been infringed and a statement of ownership to such work(s);

Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;

Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number and e-mail address at which you may be contacted;

A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law;

Include the following statement: "I have good faith belief that the use of the copyrighted materials described above and contained on the service is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or by protection of law";

A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;

Your physical or electronic signature (i.e., "/s/ [print name]"); and

(Optional) Provide information, if possible, sufficient to permit us to notify the user(s) who posted the content that allegedly contains infringing material. You may also provide screenshots or other materials that are helpful to identify the works in question. (This is for identification only, not to "prove" substantive claims.)

Please note: The DMCA provides that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys fees) if you falsely claim that materials infringe your copyrights. We recommend contacting an attorney if you are unsure whether your content is protected by copyright laws.

To file a counter-notification

If your content has been taken down as a result of a notification by a purported copyright owner that such party's copyright rights are infringed by your content, you may respond by sending us a DMCA counter-notification as follows:

List the material that was removed by the Apartment Therapy administrators, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed. Please identify in sufficient detail;

State that you consent to the jurisdiction of U.S. Federal District Court for the judicial district in which you reside (or New York, New York if your address is outside of the United States);

State that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification to us of the alleged infringement or an agent of such person;

State the following: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material identified above was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled"; and

Your physical or electronic signature (i.e., "/s/ [print name]").

Send the written document to the designated DMCA Agent at Apartment Therapy:

DO NOT SEND ANY INQUIRIES UNRELATED TO INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS (E.G., REQUESTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OR CUSTOMER SERVICE, ETC.) TO THE CONTACT LISTED ABOVE. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE IF YOU SEND COMPLAINTS UNRELATED TO LEGAL MATTERS TO THAT CONTACT.

COPYRIGHT AND CONTENT USAGE FAQ

What is copyright and why does it matter?

Copyright is a form of legal protection given to authors of original works such as literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, graphic, photographic, software and certain other intellectual works. The copyright owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the work, make new works based on the work, distribute copies, and perform or display the work, during the duration of copyright protection, subject to very limited fair use rights of others to use only such amount as necessary to exercise fair use rights. You should assume all third party content is protected by copyright unless you have determined otherwise with the assistance of legal counsel and you should not rely on fair use except pursuant to advice of legal counsel. You can, however, seek a permission or license to use third party copyright protected content and once obtained will have the right to do so subject to the terms and conditions thereof. Please be aware that recipes and certain other content are not capable of copyright. If your notice of infringement relates to a recipe, then you may want to review the U.S. Copyright Office's Circular on the copyrightability of recipes prior to reporting
your notice of infringement.

What if I bought a copy of third party content?

If you have purchased a copy of a work (e.g., a DVD of a movie or a CD of music) you generally only have a limited right to view or listen to the work for your personal non-commercial use and the copyright owner retains all other rights, unless otherwise agreed. Accordingly, unless you have permission from the copyright owner, you cannot copy content off your CD and DVD collections or off of the web and post it to this website. Its like this, if you create a work you want to decide who can do what with it, right? Well, think about that with respect to the works of others!

What if I discover I submitted or posted content that includes materials I was not authorized to use?

The Terms of Use require you to notify us immediately with the following information:

Identification of your User Content and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;

Identification of all aspects of your User Content for which you lack sufficient authority to grant us the rights granted above with sufficient detail to enable us to identify and remove, delete or disable such aspects;

A statement under penalty of perjury that your notice is complete and accurate and that remainder of such User Content is free from any infringement of third party rights;

Your physical or electronic signature (i.e., "/s/ [print name]").

Such notice shall be sent to us by fax or written letter (U.S. mail or courier) at:

DO NOT SEND ANY INQUIRIES UNRELATED TO INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS (E.G., REQUESTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OR CUSTOMER SERVICE, ETC.) TO THE CONTACT LISTED ABOVE. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE IF YOU SEND COMPLAINTS UNRELATED TO LEGAL MATTERS TO THAT CONTACT.

How can I learn more about copyrights?

There are many available resources on the Internet. Apartment Therapy is not responsible for the content provided by these resources, but we have found the following to be informative:

What rights do I need to have to post content on the Site?

In addition to permission from third party copyright owners to make use of their video, works of art (including
sculptures even if visible in public places), music, graphics, photographs, software and other intellectual property, we require you to obtain permission to depict any persons (except for crowd shots in public places).

When you post content you have agreed that you have all necessary third party permissions and licenses pursuant to our Terms of Use. Failure to do so subjects you to suspension or termination of your account and liability to us and to third parties.

How do I make a DMCA notification or counter-notification?

Please follow the instructions at our DMCA Notice and Policy section precisely, including only the enumerated information. Inclusion of any information beyond the specifically required information and optional information listed could significantly impede review of your attempted notification. You may find it simplest to cut-and-paste the numbered items above and use them as headings for the information you are submitting.

How does Apartment Therapy determine who "wins" and "loses"?

Apartment Therapy does not adjudicate the substance of the copyright claim: we do not declare winners and losers. Your copyright in an item is determined in the real world, by real-world processes including the DMCA. The DMCA process allows users of an online service to resolve copyright disputes using the adjudication systems available in the real world.

Can I sign notifications and counter-notifications with my Apartment Therapy Online Services user name (if applicable)?

We will not accept notices that are not signed by a real legal person. The DMCA process is a real-world process with real-world ramifications.

I don't agree with the required statements. Do I have to state these things?

We will not accept notices under the DMCA that do not include the statements required by the DMCA.

Can you change the DMCA process?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is federal law, passed by the United States Congress. Apartment Therapy does not have the power to change congressional acts.

Can Apartment Therapy give me legal advice concerning my claim?

Apartment Therapy cannot provide legal advice to you. If you are uncertain about any legal issues, you are well-advised to obtain the services of a competent legal professional.

Do you terminate accounts based on DMCA claims?

If Apartment Therapy believes that a user of Apartment Therapy Online Services is continually abusing the DMCA process, either with filings that appear to be without basis, or by continually re-posting content that is the subject of valid DMCA notifications, we may exercise our right to terminate the abusing party's account. Keep in mind though, that Apartment Therapy's actions still do not determine the substantive outcome of copyright disputes. Copyright matters are real-world rights, governed by real-world systems.

Where can I find more information about the DMCA?

There are many available resources on the Internet. Apartment Therapy is not responsible for the content provided by these other resources, but we have found the following to be informative: